Inseam joint forming machine



June 24, 1941. H GORDON 2,246,727

INSEAM JOINT FORMING MACHINE Filed May 5. 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet l @bung June 24, 1941. H GORDON 2,246,727

INSEAM JOINT FORMING MACHINE Filed May 5. 1939 5 Shee'tS-Sheet 2 vgl' girar/z @a rd'oza June 24, 1941. H, GORDON Y 2,246,727

INSEAM JOINT FORMING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 77@ www@ June 24, 1941.A H GORDON 2,246,727

` INSEAM JOINT FORMING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1939 5 sheets-sheet `4 Hz'nm @orden June 24, 1941.

H.GORDON INSEAM JOINT FORMING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1939 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 from the appearance of the shoes.

Patented June 24, 1941 INSEAM JOINT FORNUNG MACHINE Hiram Gordon, Columbus, Ollio,l assigner to The Walker T.

Dickerson Company, Columbus,

Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application May 5,` 1939, Serial No. 272,004

1o claims;

This invention relates generally tothe shoe making industry and is particularly directed to an improved method of and apparatus for forming inseam joints on shoes during the manu- `facture thereof.

In making womens shoes and especially the welted type provided with Wood heels, it has always been a problem to properly fabricate and assemble the various parts of the shoe so that when the heel is attached and the sole is trimmed adjacent the breast edges `of the heel, the stitches employed to secure the sole tothe welt will `not be severed. Prior `to this invention, it has been necessary for each manufacturer of shoes of the type mentioned to employ one `or more cobblers to re-sew the soles by handtothe welt adjacent the heel breast after the trimming operation Where the outseam has been injured. These hand operations greatly increase the cost of the shoes manufactured and produce an unsatisfactory product, the thickness of the sole edges varying to such an extent las to detract Shoe manufacturers have made many attempts to overcome this diiiiculty but until the present have been unsuccessful. l

, The primary object of this invention resides in the provision of an improved: method of and apparatus for forming shoes which will positively avoid the above mentioned objections.

It is also an object to provide a step in the method of manufacturing welt shoes between the bed-lasting and inseaming operations, which step comprises subjecting the quarter, counter and lining of the shoes adjacent the rear ends of the insole ribs to a series of sharp blows by a suitable tool to cause these parts to conform to the shape of the margin and rib of the insole. By the application of the blows, the materials are caused to set o1' become fixed in the desired form` and a more perfect seat for the welt strip is secured.

Another object rests in constructing a machine with an instrument having the operating extremity shaped to conform to the 'adjoining portions of an insole rib and margin, the machine also being provided with an actuating 'device which causes the instrument to deliver the sharp impacts to a shoe held in engagement with the operating extremity of the instrument.

A still further object is disposed in building a machine with a reciprocative actuator and a chisel-pointed tool in cooperation therewith, the latter member being guided for movement in a plane at an angle to the horizontal in Older'that ing a pair of oppositely disposed chisel-pointedv tool elements and a reciprocative actuator for each, a movable elevator being provided between the tool elements for the support of a shoe to be treated therebetween, the tool elements and the actuating devices therefor being adjustable to adapt the machine to various size shoes.

Other objects will appear from the following description of several embodiments of the insA vention illustrated drawings. l l

Fig. 1 is a perspective View of a machine formed in accordance with the present invention;`

Figl 2 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through the upper portion of the machine shownin Fig. l; A Figl3 is a front elevational view of a portion of the mechanism shown in Fig.2; Y l

' Fig.` 4 is a detail sectional view taken on the plane indicated by the line IV-IV of Fig. 2;

Fig.' 5 is a'vertical longitudinal sectional view taken through a modified form of machine for carrying out the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective View of the rear portion of a lasted shoe after the quarter, counter and lining have been bed-lasted and the edges thereof stapled to the rib of the insole;

\ Fig. 7 is a sectional View taken through one in detail in the accompanying side of the shoe shown in Fig. 6 with the edge portion of the shoe `in registration with and spaced from the welt seat forming tool;

Fig. 8 is a similar View showing the shoe in engagement with the tool;

Fig; 9 is a perspective View of the shoe after the Welt seat has been formed at one side thereof Fig. 10 is a vertical transverse sectional View taken through the shoe shown in Fig. 9 and shows the welt seat at the right of the figure anc a space between the quarter, counter and lining and the rib of the insole at the left side of the figure;

Fig. 1l is a transverse sectional view illustrat tachment of welt strip to a shoe on which the welt seat has been formed;

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the rear portion of a shoe, on which the welt seat forming operation has not been performed, after the welt strip has been secured thereto;

Fig. 14 is a similar view showing a shoe which has been treated to form the welt seat;

Fig. 15 is a plan view of the shoe shown in Fig. 13 after the outsole has been applied thereto, the heel being supported over the shoe in the position which it will occupy when attached to the shoe;

Fig. 16 is a similar view of the shoe shown in Fig. 14;

Fig. 17 is a front elevational view partly in vertical section showing a further modified form of the machine for carrying out the present invention;

Fig. 18 is a detail vertical sectional view taken through the lower portion of the machine shown in Fig. 17, l

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1, 2 and 3 of the drawings, there has been illustrated a simple machine for forming the inseam joints on shoes. This form of the invention includes a supporting frame I having vertically extending corner legs 2 which, in this instance, are formed from angle iron. The lower ends of the legs are connected by similar material and, if desired, may-be fastened to the floor or other supporting surface.V YThe upper ends of the corner legs are connected with a platform 3 on which a tool actuator support 4 is rigidly secured.

The support 4 comprises a metallic block having an inclined groove formed in its forward surface, the groove connecting at its upper end with a transversely extending groove 6. The grooves 5 and 6 receive portions of the body 'I of a fluid pressure operated actuator 8 which, ln the presentV instance, comprises a conventional air hammer. The'body I in the first form of the invention is clamped to the support by a bar 9 which extends over the body 'I and is secured to the support by a plurality of screws III. The body 'I contains a reciprocatory piston, not shown, which is rapidly operated by compressed air introduced tothe actuator through a pipe II leading to a suitable source of uid under pressure. The body of the actuator is provided with a spring-pressed valve operating trigger I2, the operation of which controls the flow of compressedV air to cause the reciprocation of the piston. When the valve is in an elevated position as shown in Fig. 2, fluid ow to the piston chamber will be prevented. If, however, the trigger I2 is moved downwardly in opposition to its spring, not shown, uid flow from the pipe II into the body 'I will be established and reciprocatory movement of the piston will take place. As the piston reciprocates in the body, it will sharply strike the rinner end of a shank I3 provided on a welt seat forming tool I4 and positionedV in an opening formed in the lower end of the actuator body 'I.

To move the trigger I2, the platform 3 is provided at one side of the support 4 with a stand I5 having a clevis I6 secured to its upper end for the pivotal support of a short lever I1, one end of which projects over the trigger I2. The opposite end of the lever I 'I is connected by a rod I8 with one end of a control lever I9 pivoted as at 20 to one of the vertical legs 2 adjacent the lower end of the machine. The other end of the lever I9 is provided with a toe plate 2| for engagement by the foot of the operator of the machine.

When pressure is applied to the toe plate, the rear end of the lever I9 will be raised, which motion will be transmitted by the rod I8 to the outer end of the lever I'I. The inner end of the lever I'I will thereby be depressed causing a similar movement of the member I2. As mentioned previously, when downward movement is imparted to this member, fluid flow to the body I will be established and the sharp impacts will be delivered to the inner end of the seat forming tool I4. Upon release of the lever I9, the spring, not shown, cooperating with the trigger I2, will cause the valve operated by the trigger to close and the flow of fluid to the member 8 will be discontinued.

The welt seat forming tool or instrument I4 is confined for movement in a single plane only by a guide band 22 supported in engagement with the member I4 by a strap 23 fastened to the bar 9 employed in securing the member 8 to the support 4. Since the element 8' is positioned in registration with the movable piston of the actuator, it will be reciprocated in the guide by the impacts imparted thereto by the reciprocation of the piston.

When the machine is to be used, an operator will stand in front of it and hold a lasted shoe 24 with the edge of the quarter 25 adjacent the insole rib 26 firmly in engagement with the angular end of the element I4 as indicated in Fig. 8. The operator will then press downward on the control lever to establish the ilow of the operating fluid to the actuator and the tool I4 will reciprocate in the manner previously set forth, delivering a plurality of sharp blows to the quarters, counter and lining which will cause them to conform to the angular shape between the margin of the insole and its rib. By reason of the hammering effect, the quarter, counter and lining will be caused to assume the shape of and remain in engagement With the insole margin and rib as shown in Fig. 9 and at the right side of Fig. 10 after the shoe is Withdrawn from engagement with the tool I4, Prior to performing this operation, the lining, counter and quarter will be spaced from the rib of the insole as illustrated in Figs. 6, 7 and at the left side of Fig. 10.

If the welt seat is not formed in the manner illustrated and described, the objectionable spacing of the lining, counter and quarter from the insole rib and margin will remain and prevent a perfect inseam from being formed when the Welt strip 21 is attached, the inseaming needle 29 making a low seam as indicated in Fig. 11. When such a seam is formed, the rear ends of the welt separate, making the outer side edges project a great distance beyond the sides of the heel 29 to be attached to the shoe. A shoe thus incorrectly formed has been illustrated in Fig. 13 wherein the forward portion of the heel 29 is disclosed in correct position by dotted lines.

As illustrated in Fig. l5, when the outsole 3U is secured to the welt strip of the shoe shown in Fig. 13 by the outseaming operation, the row of stitches 3| follows the inseam and are spaced outwardly a slight distance therefrom and when the sole is trimmed to connect with the heel, the stitches 3l securing the outsole will be trimmed out. This error will have to be corrected by a hand cobbling operation, previously mentioned, which the method and apparatus of this invention has been provided to eliminate.

.'By performing the operations on the shoe to cause the material to conform to the angular shape of the insole and rib, a better seat is formed for the receptionpf'the welt strip and a more perfect joint will be obtained when the strip is secured to the shoe by the inseaming operation as `shown in Fig.l 12.

Fig. 14 illustrates the rear portion of a shoe which had the welt seat formed in accordance with the present invention and a welt strip 27a sewed to the insole rib through the quarter, counter and lining. This figure clearly shows that the rear ends of the Welt strip are maintained in properly spaced order to have the outer side edges substantially register with the corresponding edges of the shoe heel 29a. When the outsole 30a is attached to a shoe thus formed, the stitches 3Ia of the outseam will be positioned Within the confines of the side edges of the breast ofthe heel as illustrated in Fig. 16 and little, if any, trimming of the outsole will be necessary to connect it with the heel. If any trimming is required, a suiiicient spacing is maintained between the edges of the sole and the stitches 3Ia to prevent the latter from being de` stroyed.A Another advantage gained by the present method is that of maintaining thin edges on the sole `along the arch regions of the shoes.

These narrow edges give the shoes an improved appearance which is not obtainable with prior methods of manufacture.

A machine `designed especially for the welt seat forming operation has been illustrated in Fig. 5. This machine has a hollow base 32 adjustably supporting a vertical column 33, the adjusted positions of which are maintained by a hand' screw 34. The upper end of the column has a hollow head 35 rigidly secured thereto in which is positioned an actuating device 36 corresponding to the member 8 in the form of the invention first described. It is to be understood at this time that while actuators of the compressed fluid operated type have been illustrated, the substitution of `a suitable reciprocating or vibrating device, operated by mechanical, electrical or hydraulic means therefor is within the concept of the present invention.

The operating fluid is conducted to the member 36 by a line 31 in which is disposed a control valve 38 having a pedal type operating lever 39 extending to the exterior of the base 32. `When the lever `39 is depressed, fluid under pressure Will iiow tothe member 3E and rapidly recurring impacts will be delivered to a tool |4held in operating position by one or more springs 40.

In both of the forms of the invention abovedescribed, the operator stands before the machine and manually holds a shoe in engagement with the welt seat forming tool.

If it is desired to mechanically support the shoes, a machine such as that shown in Fig. 1'? may be provided in which both inseam, joints may be formed at a single operation. The machine shown in Fig. `17 includes a frame 4I provided at its upper end with a pair of reversely inclined guides 42. The adjacent inner lower ends of the guides are spaced and connect with a second set of guides 43, the latter guides being provided to adjustably support an elevator 44 provided at its upper end with a pin 45 employed in locating a lasted shoe 46 on the elevator. At the sides of the pin, the elevator is provided with a pair of inclined cam surfaces 41 which engage projections 48 extending from tool actuator supports 49 slidably received in the guides 42.

'Ihe members 49 are each provided with a tool actuator 50 similar in form and method of operation to that shown in the form of the inventionL gaged by compression type springs 5I to cause them to be resiliently held in engagement with the elevator. When the machine shown in Fig. 17v

is operated, a lasted shoe is positioned on the upper end of the elevator in an inverted condition. Upward movement of the elevator will cause the supports to separate until the spacing between the elements I4 corresponds to the distance between the outer sides of the insole ribs. A slight downward movement of the elevato-r will permit the elements I4 to forcibly engage the quarter of the shoe adjacent the insole ribs and when iiuid under pressure is introduced to the member 50, the elements I4 will be reciprocated to deliver the blows to the quarter, counter and lining to form the welt seat on the shoe.

The elevator 44 may be operated in any suitable manner but for purposes of illustration, as shown in Fig. 18, the frame of the machine is provided with a lever 52 supported for pivotal movement as at 53. One end 54 of the lever is positioned beneath the lower end of the elevator 44 and when the opposite end of the lever 52 is moved downwardly, the shorter end 54 will engage the elevator and move it upwardly to separate the supports 49. Since the guides 42 are inclined, the supports will move upwardly at the same time as they are being separated to correspond to the elevation of the shoe supported on the elevator. Since the elements I4 are capable of separating, the machine will be adapted for use on any size of S1106;

It will be noted that in all forms of apparatus illustrated, the operating extremity of the welt seat forming tool is provided with a pair of surfaces disposed in angular relationship, one surface being parallel and corresponding with the margin of the insole of a shoe placed in operative position with regard to the tool and the other surface being parallel and ycorresponding with the rib of such insole. The relation of these surfaces to one another and to the corresponding parts of the shoe insole is best illustrated in Fig. 8.

While the method of and machines for per-V forming the described Welt seat forming operation may bev modified in many respects from. that shown in the drawings, the rights to all such modifications as may 'be said to fall within the scope of the appended claims is hereby reserved.

I claim:

1. An inseam joint and forming machine comprising a framework having a platform and a plurality of legs supporting said platform in an elevated position, a supporting block secured to said platform, a iiuid pressure operated reciprocative actuating device mounted on said support, said device having an operating extremity guided for movement in a plane at an angle with respect to the horizontal, a chisel-pointed instrument connected with said actuating device, a valve for controlling the iiow of fluid under pressure to said actuating device, a lever mounted for pivotal movement at the lower end of said supporting legs, and means for transferring movement from said lever to said valve to effect its actuation.

2. An inseam joint and forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of actuator supports adiustably carried by said frame, a fluid pressure operated reciprocatory actuator mounted on each support, a chisel-pointed instrument supportedin engagement with each actuator, said instruments being directed toward a common point, means for supporting a lasted shoe in an inverted position between said instruments, elevator means for simultaneously raising said shoe supporting means and adjusting said supports, and manually actuated means for controlling the ow of operating uid to said actuators.

3. An inseam joint and forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of reversely inclined guides carried by said frame, a pair of actuator supports mounted for movement in said guides, resilient means for yieldably resisting movement of said supports in one direction in said guides, a powerdriven reciprocatory actuator mounted on each support, achisel-pointed instrument supported in registration with each actuator, said instruments projecting toward a common point therebetween, an elevator member mounted for vertical adjustment between said supports, said elevator member having a pair of cam surfaces for engagement by said supports to move the latter in opposition to said resilient means upon upward movement of said elevator, means for moving said elevator, means on said elevator for locating an inverted lasted shoe thereon, and manually actuated means for controlling the flow of power to said actuators.

4. An inseam joint and forming machine comprising a frame, a pair of guides provided at the upper portion of said frame in inwardly inclined relation, a power unit support adjustably positioned in each guide, spring means tending to force said supports toward the center of said frame, an elevator adjustably carried by said frame between said supports, a pair of cam surfaces formed on said elevator and engaging said supports to cause movement'thereof in opposition to said springs upon upward movement of said elevator, means for locating an inverted lasted shoe on said elevator, a power unit on each of said supports, a chisel-pointed element secured in registration with each power unit for actuation thereby, said chisel elements being directed toward said shoe locating means, and means for controlling the operation of said power units.

5. An inseam joint forming machine comprising a support, a chisel-pointed instrumentality carried by said support and projecting down- Wardly therefrom at an angle, said instrumentality being movably supported and unobstructed by other mechanism at its lower end, means mounted on said support for engaging and delivering a continuous series of sharp impulses to said instrumentality to impart movement thereto and manually actuated means for controlling the operation of impulse delivering means.

6. A machine for forming inseam joints on shoes comprising a stand, a head provided at the upper end of said stand, a chisel-pointed member projecting downwardly and outwardly from said head in individual relationship, said member being capable of limited longitudinal reciprocation, fluid pressure operated means for imparting rapidly recurring impulses to said member to cause longitudinal movement thereof, conductor means for supplying iiuid under pressure to said pressure operated means, and valve means in said conductor means for controlling the ow of fluid to said pressure operated means.

7. A machine for forming inseam joints on shoes comprising a stand, a head provided at the upper end of said stand, a chisel-pointed member projecting downwardly and outwardly from said head in individual relationship, said member being capable of limited longitudinal reciprocation, means for yieldably resisting movement of said member in one direction, iiuid pressure operated means for imparting rapidly recurring impulses to said member to cause longitudinal movement thereof, conductor means for supplying iiuid under pressure to said pressure operated means, and valve means in said conductor means for controlling the iiow of iluid to said pressure operated means.

8. In a machine for forming inseam joints on shoes, a stand, a pair of heads carried by said stand in opposed relationship, a chisel-pointed member projecting from each head, said members terminating in spaced relationship, power operated means carried by each head for imparting a series of rapidly recurring impulses to said members to cause limited longitudinal movement thereof, and means for supporting a shoe with the inseam joint at each side thereof in simultaneous engagement with said members.

9. In a machine for forming inseam joints on shoes, a stand, a pair of heads carried by said stand in opposed relationship, a chisel-pointed member projecting from each head, said members terminating in spaced relationship, power operated means carried by each head for imparting a series of rapidly recurring impulses to said members to cause limited longitudinal movement thereof, and means for moving a shoe toward said members and yieldably holding the inseam joint; at each side thereof in simultaneous engagement with the chisel-points of said members.

10. An inseam joint forming machine comprising a substantially upright stand, a head disposed at the upper end of said stand with the longitudinal axis of said head in an inclined plane, a chisel-pointed instrumentality non-rotatably carried at the lower end of said head for limited longitudinal movement relative thereto, fluid pressure operated means carried by said head in registration with the upper end of said instrumentality for delivering a series of percussive impulses thereto, and valve means at the lower end of said stand for movementI by the operators foot to control the ow of fluid to said iiuid operated means.

HIRAM GORDON. 

